Two Motionspot team members recognised as Inspiring Women in Property

We are delighted to announce that Motionspot Inclusive Design Consultants, Vivian Wall and Kathryn Gundry, have been recognised in this year's Inspiring Women in Property Awards.

To be recognised alongside other industry leaders is a huge achievement and testament to the work they do every day in the field of access and inclusion in the built environment.

For a full list of finalists: https://iwip.propertyweek.com/InspiringWomeninPropertyLive/en/page/finalists-2024 

Here we feature some extracts from Kathryn and Vivian's entries and career highlights.

Vivian Wall - Mentor of the Year

Vivian Wall is an Inclusive Design Consultant at Motionspot. She is an exceptional mentor and user engagement specialist, supporting the next generation of architecture students and empowering them to harness their unique identities as they shape their careers.

Vivian Wall believes that creating diversity in the built environment begins with diversity of those who use it. This stems from her own experience while studying architecture and the obstacles she faced. Vivian was highly dissatisfied with the exclusive curriculum she was taught as a student. She found there was no representation of black, female architects, let alone immigrants from the Caribbean like herself. She had to tailor her projects to a UK context to hit the project demands, despite large cultural differences from her own experience.

Frustrated by this lack of ethnic diversity amongst the lecturers and design tutors, Vivan set out to become one herself. After graduation and pursuing a career in the industry, in 2023, Vivian was invited to be a lecturer and design tutor on the Interior Architecture course at the University of Brighton. Once a week for the past two years, Vivian has been lecturing the next generation of architecture students about principles of accessible and inclusive design and empowering them to embrace their unique identities as they shape their careers.

Vivian’s dedication, expertise, and interpersonal skills make her an outstanding mentor. Her students and colleagues all comment that her positive energy is inspirational. She has a natural ability to connect with people and fosters a welcoming and inclusive environment, making students and colleagues feel valued and heard. Her approachable demeanour and genuine interest in others have left a lasting impact on students, the broader school community, and the future property leaders.

The impact of her mentoring has also been felt academically. Since Vivian began lecturing, three times as many students received A-grades compared to the previous year. First year student portfolios also clearly reflect inclusive design and demonstrate evidence of students considering disability, neurodiversity, and sensory sensitivity in their projects.

Vivian balances her lecturing commitments with her professional career as an Inclusive Design Consultant at Motionspot. Here she is an expert in user engagement and works to embed people’s lived experiences into built environment projects.

Vivian works with multiple high-profile global clients across hospitality, public realm, workplace, and residential. She consults on projects to understand how people’s unique identities, cultural backgrounds, and protected characteristics shape their interaction with the built environment. She has delivered user engagement workshops exploring inclusive design with over 120 people across four continents (Europe, North America, South America and Asia), including customers and Employee Resource Groups, and provides practical design recommendations that meet these needs. This results in property stakeholders refining their strategies and project approach to make buildings and spaces welcome to all.

A previous winner of the 2020 Women in Property National Student Awards, Vivian continues to drive diversity and inclusion in the property industry. She hopes to encourage (particularly young) people to harness their individuality to achieve fulfilment, wellbeing, and career development. As well as embed inclusive design into the Caribbean and other developing countries.

Find out more about Vivian in her own words in her article: 'A building is just a shell until you put people in it'.

Kathryn Gundry - Rising Star of the Year (Commercial) 

Kathryn Gundry is a Senior Inclusive Design Consultant at Motionspot. An architect by background, with a focus on accessible and inclusive design, Kathryn is forging an influential career creating more equitable built environments for all.

Since graduating in architecture and winning the G4C (Generation 4 Change) Future Leader Award in 2021, Kathryn Gundry has built on this early promise to develop a career creating more equitable built environments for all. This encompasses people with a broad range of protected human characteristics including disability, neurodivergence, sex, age, race, ethnicity, and religion.

Kathryn has developed an extensive portfolio working on new-builds and refurbishments across offices, public buildings, education, listed buildings, community spaces, social housing, and specialist housing for older and disabled people, with a specialism in access.

Her impact is rapidly evolving from project-specific roles to influencing industry-wide policy. Kathryn is Vice Chair of the Access Association London and South-East region, Access Adviser for the Diocese of London's Diocesan Advisory Committee (DAC), and earlier this year was Vice Chair of Women in Social Housing London Region (WISH).

The scale of projects Kathryn works on is increasing. As Senior Inclusive Design Consultant at Motionspot, she influences improvements to access and inclusion on high-profile commercial developments. Examples of recent work include: a leading hub for medical research covering nine buildings, including offices, laboratories, and public amenity space; an inclusive education floor, hireable space and an archive for a high-profile arts organisation; and a workplace accommodating 5,000 employees in the City of London. With DAC she works with churches across London to make these public spaces, often with listed status, more accessible and inclusive.

Her approach is positive and constructive, working with clients to come up with solutions. Kathryn collaborates to create compelling designs that are both accessible and inclusive, as well as attract potential buyers or tenants. This cooperative approach is hugely respected by clients throughout all project stages, and clients highlight the value Kathryn’s input provides - boosting social impact and financial return.

Kathryn isn’t just helping to influence current industry. To embed change, she understands that the next generation needs to be inspired. According to the Royal Institute of British Architects, women entering architectural education ranges from 40-50%, but diminishes to 31% women to 69% men for registered architects. This early drop-off between education and practice is not a surprise to Kathryn having worked her way up in the field realising that having role-models, who set the tone, culture, and aspiration for their future careers, is vital for young practitioners. Testament to Kathryn’s positivity, commitment, and talent, Kathryn is now guest lecturing at Oxford Brookes University to first year architecture students.

Find out more about Kathryn's career in inclusive design in her own words.